Content about Florida

May 14, 2012
HCN selects state-by-state Hardware Store All-Stars

The 2012 crop of Home Channel News Hardware Store All-Stars marks the second year of the state-by-state accounting of high-performance retailers. The common theme of “excellent customer service” runs through the entire list, but that’s just the beginning.

Here are the honorees from Connecticut, Delaware and Florida:

May 4, 2012
2012 Hardware Store All-Stars

Last year, the original 50 Home Channel News Hardware Store All-Star honorees established a high bar and a hard act to follow. But the 2012 crop rises to the challenge. This year’s Hardware Store All-Stars, one from each of the 50 U.S. states, have at least one thing in common: Ask them what makes them special and you can bet they’ll include “excellent customer service” in the answer. From there, every path to stardom is unique.

April 25, 2012
Harris Wood gains Made in USA accreditation

Harris Wood, a division of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Q.E.P. Co., has gained accreditation as a "Made in USA" brand through the Made in USA Brand Certification Mark. 

Founded in 1898 in Johnson City, TN, Harris Wood is one of the oldest hardwood flooring companies in the United States of America.

April 25, 2012
Harris Wood gains Made in USA accreditation

Harris Wood, a division of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Q.E.P. Co., has gained accreditation as a "Made in USA" brand through the Made in USA Brand Certification Mark. 

Founded in 1898 in Johnson City, TN, Harris Wood is one of the oldest hardwood flooring companies in the United States of America.

April 24, 2012
MarJam adds two locations in Florida

MarJam Supply Co. has acquired a Lainhart & Potter, a 119-year-old Florida hardware and LBM dealer, with locations in West Palm and Juniper. These two locations will expand MarJam’s current Florida yards, which include Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Wildwood.

April 24, 2012
MarJam adds two locations in Florida

MarJam Supply Co. has acquired a Lainhart & Potter, a 119-year-old Florida hardware and LBM dealer, with locations in West Palm and Juniper. These two locations will expand MarJam’s current Florida yards, which include Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Wildwood.

April 16, 2012
Builder confidence slips in March

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes declined for the first time in seven months this April, sliding three notches to 25 on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The decline brings the index back to where it was in January, which was the highest level since 2007.

March 15, 2012
Little change in 'Improved housing markets' list

The list of housing markets that show improvement, as measured by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), expanded from 98 to 99 metro regions between February and March 2012.

March 9, 2012
Sunrise Decking now available at 84 Lumber

Sunrise Decking, a pressure-treated lumber product by Sunbelt Forest Products, is now available through lumber dealers, home centers and fence contractors across Florida, the Southeast and into the Caribbean Basin.

Treated with Ecolife, a non-metallic wood preservative and wood made by Viance, the product can be purchased in 10-ft., 12-ft. and 16-ft. lengths throughout Florida exclusively at 84 Lumber store locations.

March 2, 2012
For Ace, retail is increasingly local

Even before Ace Hardware Corp. reported high single-digit sales increases for the quarter and the year — and even during a lingering housing downturn — CEO Ray Griffith told dealers that he liked the position in which Ace finds itself.

“Ongoing uncertainly keeps consumers cautious about spending, but many of you are doing well,” he told the members gathered in Denver for the co-op’s market last year.

March 2, 2012
Passion play

Titusville, Fla. — Running a hardware store isn’t rocket science. But for the team at Ace Hardware Titusville, rocket science is never too far removed from the business equation.

Within plain view of the store’s parking lot across the wide Indian River sits the Kennedy Space Center and the Space Shuttle launch pad. Space launches are part of the culture here, and the nation’s space exploration apparatus is part of the customer base for the store, which has sent merchandise into orbit at least once.

March 2, 2012
Reporter’s Notebook: IBS

Orlando, Fla. — Most attendees just made passing mention to the thinner crowds and smaller booths this year at the International Builders’ Show. It’s like commenting on how cold it is when there’s snow falling from the sky. Regular exhibitors that opted out from the show were Home Depot, Masco, Andersen Windows, Atrium and Weather Shield.

February 22, 2012
For True Value CEO, growth looms large

Chicago-based True Value CEO Lyle Heidemann had some good news for dealers gathered in Orlando, Fla., during the general session of the co-op's 2012 spring market. Sales were up, he said. So are expectations. 

For the year ended Dec. 31, True Value revenue increased 3.4% to $1.86 billion, as the co-op is riding a wave of consecutive quarterly sales increases that now extends to five. Full-year earnings for the co-op were $60.3 million, down 0.7% from $60.7 million in 2010.

February 22, 2012
Lowe’s stores hit by counterfeit scam

Two men used counterfeit dollars to purchase items at several Lowe’s stores in Florida and Alabama and then returned the items for cash, according to an article in the Press Register.

February 22, 2012
True Value's marketing chief embraces simplicity

In his first market presentation to True Value retailers, the co-op's new VP marketing and chief customer officer Blake Fohl laid out a plan for -- what else? -- improved marketing. 

He also promised improvements to True Value Rewards (TVR).

February 16, 2012
Competitors unite at City of Hope event

Orlando, Fla. -- The stage of the 2012 City of Hope “Spirit of Life” event featured one brand new honoree, several more industry icons and 30 years of memories for the hardware/homebuilding group.

Convening for the good of the California-based cancer treatment and research center, executives and supporters filled a banquet room at the Rosen Plaza Hotel here on the eve of the International Builders' Show to honor the man of the hour: Ace Hardware's Ray Griffith. The president and CEO of the Oak Brook, Ill.-based hardware co-op accepted the 2012 Spirit of Life award.

February 15, 2012
At True Value event, open casting

When True Value retailers assemble in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 20 to 22, the Chicago-based co-op will invite retailers to audition for its television campaigns. 

According to Chris Taylor, True Value's director of communications, the one-day-only open auditions for camera-friendly retailers will be among the highlights of the co-op's market event. The retailers selected will play roles in the co-op's national advertising campaign in 2012.

February 13, 2012
Bernanke to builders: More needs to be done

Orlando, Fla. -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, addressing a crowd of home builders on the last day of the International Builders' Show here, did his best to explain how low mortgage rates -- his chief weapon to stimulate the housing market -- have fallen short of their goals. But Bernanke’s speech before a crowd of more than 200 attendees was not an apologie; on the contrary, Bernanke seemed a little frustrated about a lack of action in other government and business sectors and seemed worried about the overall effect of the housing crisis on the general economy.

February 13, 2012
Lowe's ramps up accessibility in the home

Lowe's entered the do-it-yourself ramp market with what it calls an "affordable, configurable" ramp system. 

The Gatehouse Custom Access Ramp System will be available to consumers in Lowe’s stores and on Lowes.com in spring 2012.

The product, which is the latest extension of Lowe's accessible home products for safety and mobility in the home, was unveiled at the 2012 International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.

February 10, 2012
A Builders’ Show roundup

Like anyone in business, builders are looking for an edge, looking for efficiencies and looking for ways to keep customers happy. The 2012 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., set the stage on all three counts. Here is a sampling of some of the ideas displayed.

February 10, 2012
Building booms, past and present, are hot topics at IBS

Orlando, Fla. -- Perhaps the second half of the seminar title said it all: “How long can the good times last?” A large group of skittish apartment and condo builders attended the multi-family forecast of David Crowe, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), here on the second day of the International Builders' Show. What they hoped to hear was that the high demand for rental units will continue to fuel multi-family starts, which continue to outpace single family starts.

February 10, 2012
Joint Center points to housing opportunities

Orlando, Fla. -- The bar charts and graphs told a complicated construction story that was interpreted with a certain degree of optimism by a Harvard economist.

Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University economist Kermit Baker gave his presentation during the Presidents Council advisory board meeting held Wednesday here at the Orange County Convention Center.

February 9, 2012
At IBS: The case for double-digit growth

Orlando, Fla. -- The official housing forecast from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is similar to last year's forecast -- with pent-up demand and improving demographics pointing toward growth in the double-digit percentages.

February 9, 2012
Orchard Supply builds brand identity

San Jose, Calif.-based Orchard Supply Co. CEO Mark Baker described the retailer's efforts to keep the brand fresh while also honoring the company's 80-plus-year history.

An emphasis on the in-store experience and local knowledge is key for the California chain, Baker explained during his presentation to the Presidents Council advisory board meeting during the International Builders' Show here in Orlando, Fla.

"We're not a small big box, but a really big small box," he said.

January 31, 2012
New American Home to shine at Builders' Show

Just outside of Orlando, Fla., a 4,181-sq.-ft. home with a clean, modern design is carrying on a tradition now its 29th year -- the unveiling of The New American Home.

The project is sponsored by The National Association of Home Builders, organizers of the International Builders' Show set for Orlando Feb. 8 to 11, and Builder magazine.

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